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Topic: TIE Fighters (Read 2716 times)

Since Tie's don't have hyperspace capability are there perhaps hyperspace rings for them?, or would they be hyperspace squares

Just thinking that maybe in a circumstance instead of some sort of capital ship carrying a load of TIE's would it be possible for maybe a 1/2 sqaud to fly in some how for whatever reason, maybe just to relieve another group of TIE's/ replacements.

Your thoughts?

« Last Edit: March 27, 2008, 09:17 PM by Jeff »

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Harmless is the most dangerous of perceptions, you never expect it to strike.-Purge

Since Tie's don't have hyperspace capability are there perhaps hyperspace rings for them?, or would they be hyperspace squares

Just thinking that maybe in a circumstance instead of some sort of capital ship carrying a load of TIE's would it be possible for maybe a 1/2 sqaud to fly in some how for whatever reason, maybe just to relieve another group of TIE's/ replacements.

Your thoughts?

I think that by the OT and beyond, there were enough carrier ships to carry squadrons of TIEs wherever they needed to go. With no sheilds as well, it makes more sense to send a larger vessel on a mission carrying several ties than sending multiple ties via external hyperdrive fittings. Plus you have the added fire support of a larger ship, it can refuel the TIEs, etc. The Empire is also largely based on intimidation, so their strategy was likely to send an enormous force somewhere to overwhelm the enemy and get them to surrender, rather than sending out one or two fighters on various missions.

I guess they must have gotten better at fitting smaller ships with hyper-drives as well, so for missions involving individual fighters, you'd probably use something slightly larger and far more durable Post ROTS. The Xwings and Ywings have them and they're not that much bigger than Xwings. Plus the Empire has added resources, so you'd think they could develop new tech at least as fast as the rebels.

TIE's can be fitted with hyperdrive, shields, life support, and even landing gear... but the added mass would reduce the TIE's superiority in speed and maneuverability. Not to mention - less parts, less maintenance, lower costs.

The Empire's second long-range fighter that wasn't part of the Clone Wars era fighters was the Cygnus Spaceworks "Starwing" Assault Gunboat, which was a replacement for the "Skipray Blastboat" Long-range patrol craft. The Sienar TIE series has craft that are hyper capable like the Avenger or Defender (among others), but there is the possibility their hyperdrive is limited... The Assault Gunboat's hyperdrive is seemingly similar to Alliance fighters in that it's capable of multiple jumps and it was developed to help with the increasing threat from the Alliance Navy.

The TIE series is much more diverse, and features fighters for specific duties, probably because of their design being inexpensive, but the Gunboats seemed to fill a pretty hefty role for long-range duty and patrol duty.

That's according to the EU anyway. I'm giving some of my own theories too on the "limited" nature of Sienar hyperdrives... TIE's, even with hyperdrive, are still fairly small and agile. It makes sense then that the ship's hyperdrive is equally small and less advanced compared to the bulkier Gunboat (which also lacks speed/maneuverability compared to most TIE series craft short of the Bombers and perhaps ground-support models).

To me, it's like asking why all of our P-51 Mustangs weren't equipped with the additional external gas tank that was standard with bomber escorts. It just wasn't a necessary expense - and while it doubled the Mustang's air time, it also added weight and mass, reducing it's maneuverability.

yes but as soon as the TIE gets to the location it drops the ring and does whatever it's there to do. I was also thinking though sure send a Star Destroyer or whatnot drop 'em in and let do the fighting, but wouldn't a lone craft with a ring be faster then a destroyer when reaching a destination? Think about the battle of Endor and how all the snubfighters were in the lead. I know the Empire has the TIE D's and whatnot but I was under the impression that they were limited in number. What about a couple TIE flying escort like they did with Vaders ship in the begining of ROTJ, since the shuttle is hyper capable would they just be using TIE D's to fly escort? Seems like part of the trouble of going back in time with Lucas and all coming up with ideas that kind of don't exist in the EU.

Another thing would be does the V-wing have a hyperdrive? And if they don't are there rings for them? Say Obi is going to another planet like how he did to Utopia, whatever it's called, but he needs a wingman? You're not going to drop an SD in for that.

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TIE Fighters and V-Wings didn't need a hyperdrive because their roles in battle never really required it. Their role is to be a screen to aid in the protection of a capital ship like a Star Destroyer or space station like the Death Star.

The only reason the Jedi fighters needed Hyperspace rings is because a Jedi would routinely go on solo missions and the small fighter would help them slip in unnoticed if need be.

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Peacekeeper, when it absolutely, positively has to be nuked in 30 minutes or less. Or the next nuke's free!

Mass produced V-wing fighters are too small to support a navicomputer and hyperdrive, though the fighter does carry a standard Q7-series astromech droid. Experimental V-wings, rumored to belong to an elite crimson-clad pilot brigade* reporting directly to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, have been known to feature compact hyperdrives of limited capacity.

I'm guessing that's supposed to be a predecessor to Emperor Palpatine's Crimson Guard. They were equipped with crimson-colored TIE Interceptors, in order to escort his shuttle. I believe they were fitted with life support and hyperdrive.

Side note on the Vwing Hasbro got it wrong on the wings. They're not supposed to close like scissors, they're supposed to just rotate from vertical to horizontal. It's hard to see, and I didn't even notice till I saw it on my 42" LCD , that they turn that way. It's the ship that lands right behind Palps shuttle transporting Vader.

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Harmless is the most dangerous of perceptions, you never expect it to strike.-Purge

Another thing would be does the V-wing have a hyperdrive? And if they don't are there rings for them? Say Obi is going to another planet like how he did to Utopia, whatever it's called, but he needs a wingman? You're not going to drop an SD in for that.

If a wingman was needed, the ARC-170's filled that role. They were very hyperspace capable. I'm guessing the Empire had a fighter in service that had a similar role.

If a wingman was needed, the ARC-170's filled that role. They were very hyperspace capable. I'm guessing the Empire had a fighter in service that had a similar role.

The ARC-170 was commissioned by the Republic, so presumably they could still have been in service in the Empire... but the ARC was designed for reconnaissance, something the Empire didn't really have a need for. Much more likely to see a Victory Class Star Destroyer come out of hyperspace and launch a half dozen or so squadrons...

You make a very good point Angry Ewok. I also forgot that the Empire had the Probots/Probe Droids for recon. As for wingmen for Jedi, the thought of another Jedi (more likely a Padawan) filling that role slipped my mind.

As for the picture you posted, no better way to scare an enemy shitless than by blotting out the sun.

Also the fragility of the Tie Fighters serves as a reminder to the Imperial Pilots that they must obey. Its kind of hard to defect in a Tie fighter when you can't really run away and you can't land on your own. By eliminating hyperdrives and landing gear in the fighters, they had to dock with the Star Destroyer. And since they were pretty cheap to build, it was no great loss to leave one behind if they Star Destroyer had to leave in a hurry. By reinforcing that the individuals are all cogs within the machine, the Empire was able to keep its own troops in line.

I agree with some of the earlier comments though. I don't really see that the empire had a great need to put out fires, so to speak. Their rule was pretty well established and they would have been only fighting disbursed rebel groups, not major Separatist groups across thousands of star systems. So its unlikely that they would have sent in a group of just Tie fighters (why send in a Tie fighter, when you can send in an Impstar-Deuce and a whole wing of fighters). Its not like they were short of Star Destroyers.

Lastly, I think its in the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, but Obi Wan marvels at how handy it is that Grievous' ship had an internal hyperdrive, clearly a luxury in a ship that small, at that time. Saved him from looking for a hyperspace ring, and let him make a clean get away from Utupau.

So I think Tie Hyperspace boxes would have been unnecessary for the Empire and would have actually run counter to some of their policies.

TIE's could land, however... There's one seen in a Death Star hangar bay sitting. They're also known to sit on their wings for support, for whatever reason, in EU materials, but in ANH there's definitely one with seemingly maintenance gear around it sitting on a hangar floor.